The first round of picking lots for entry-level admissions for underprivileged children in private schools under RTE (Right To Education) Act began at several schools in the district on Thursday.
A total of 18,347 applications were received from 5,525 students. Many of them had applied for multiple schools in their locality.
A government school headmaster who supervised the lot picking at Sri Aurobindo Mira Matriculation Higher Secondary School said, “Students who are orphaned, physically-challenged, HIV-affected, transgenders and children of sanitary workers are given preference. Though details regarding this is available in their applications, we confirm it with the parents before picking the lots. If the house of the student is beyond one km away from the school, the application is rejected.”
At this particular school, 65 people had applied for eight entry-level seats. So names of eight students were picked from the lot, and an additional five names were also picked to keep them in waiting list in case someone does not make use of the available seat.
One of the parents, R. Seenivasan, who got admission for his daughter at the school, was elated. He said that he came from an underprivileged background and this seat meant a lot to him.
